Politician and journalist face jail terms

A Togolese opposition leader and a journalist could be sentenced to four years imprisonment each for "defamation" following the publication of articles saying that President Gnassingbe Eyadema is one of the world's richest men. The secretary of the Worker's Party, Claude Ameganvi, and publishing editor of the newspaper Nouvel Echo, Julien Ayi, published the articles in early August,the French news agency Agence France-Press (AFP) reported on Saturday. The Nouvel Echo article, which also ran in another Togolese daily, said Eyadema had a fortune of some US $4.5 billion. The paper cited Forbes Magazine, which publishes a list of the world's richest people every year, as its source. Forbes Magazine has denied that Eyadema was ever listed on the Forbes annual list of the world's wealthiest people or mentioned on Forbes.com, which published a related article about the wealth of international leaders. In a trial held in the Togolese capital, Lome, the government pleaded for a six-month jail term for "threatening the honour of the Head of State", 48 months' imprisonment for "disturbing public order" and a fine of US $145. The verdict is expected on Friday, AFP reported. The government did not rely on Togo's new press code, adopted last week, in making its case against Ameganvi and Ayi. The new press code calls for a prison of one to five years without parole and a fine ranging from $1,480 to $7,400 for such an offence. Items on Togo's new press code include: TOGO: Parliament adopts restrictive new media bill